England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales will host the next European Football Championship, but it is possible that not all of them will participate in Euro 2028.
The UEFA Executive Committee made a decision ahead of the Europa League final in Bilbao that the aforementioned organizers would have to go through the qualifiers, but with certain exemptions, so two places in the championship were reserved if they failed to qualify.
In previous editions of the European Championships, the hosts were automatically guaranteed a place in the tournament, except for the 2020 tournament, which was held in 11 cities across Europe.
The four hosts of Euro 2028 will be placed in different qualifying groups, and the 12 group winners and the eight best runners-up (20 teams in total) will qualify directly for the 24-team final tournament.
"Two places in the final tournament will be reserved for the two best-ranked domestic teams that do not qualify as group winners or as best runners-up after the completion of the qualifying group stage," Uefa said, according to Reuters.
The remaining places in the continental championship will be filled through a play-off between the remaining runners-up from the qualifying groups and the best-ranked teams from the 2026/27 Nations League that did not qualify.
How many teams from the Nations League will get a chance in the play-offs will depend on whether all the hosts of Euro 2028 qualify through the qualifiers.
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